


The Interpretive Sense

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, F/M, Gen, Nightmares, Psychological Torture, The Leviathan, Torture, hurt-comfort bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-11
Updated: 2012-06-11
Packaged: 2017-11-07 11:46:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/430797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I don't own KOTOR. </p>
<p>Written for hurt_comfort bingo, with the prompt "forced to hurt somebody". First time writing a male Revan, so my writing skills may not be up to par. Hope it's good nonetheless.</p>
    </blockquote>





	The Interpretive Sense

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own KOTOR. 
> 
> Written for hurt_comfort bingo, with the prompt "forced to hurt somebody". First time writing a male Revan, so my writing skills may not be up to par. Hope it's good nonetheless.

The first thing Gann felt when he awoke was the fact that somehow, it felt like a thermal detonator had gone off in his head. He groaned -- next time Canderous offered to take him out drinking, he was going to decline. He obviously couldn't hold his...wait a minute, why was he naked? Why was Bastila naked, for that matter? And Carth?  
  
"Where are we? What happened?" Gann was almost painfully aware of how stupid he sounded. How ridiculous he sounded. He couldn't help himself.   
  
"We're on the  _Leviathan,_ " Carth said, "Karath captured us. Remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah...tractor beam..." He could remember now. He sighed. "I just hope Juhani gets here soon."  
  
"She's a clever girl," Carth said. "She will."  
  
"I don't doubt that. It's just..." Gann sighed. "I'm just worried we're running out of time."  
  
***

 

It was later that Saul Karath appeared. He was a tall man, lean, with a bit of stubble on him and, honestly, kind of a sleazy look to him, almost like a Dug. Even now, hearing that low growl in Carth's throat, Gann did his best to lean towards him -- wincing as the Force cage stung him. "Carth," he whispered, loudly across the room, "Have a care. Don't react rashly, no matter what he says."  
  
"You don't have to tell me," Carth muttered.  
  
Saul seemed to ignore that exchange, focusing entirely on Carth. "Carth," he said, and even now, Gann couldn't help but be surprised how he had said "Carth", instead of, say, "Admiral Onasi", or even "Onasi", like those villains in cliched holodramas. "It's been a while since we last talked. The years have not been kind to you, I see." A pause. "I barely recognized you."  
  
"And you're the same as always." Carth said, almost sourly.  
  
A pause.  
  
"Do you know how long I've waited for this?" Carth's voice was rising, anger entering it. "Do you know how long I've waited for this, since Telos, since Morgana -- "  
  
"Carth," Gann hissed, "For stang's sake, not now -- ''  
  
"Stay out of this, Gann," Carth snapped. "It has nothing to do with you."  
  
Saul seemed almost regretful -- almost. Somehow, Gann didn't trust him. It seemed almost disingenuous, almost...slimy. Slimy as a Dug, as the saying went. It was best to start calling him "Admiral Dug", at least in his mind -- he had to do something to keep his sanity here. "In war," he said, "Even the innocent must die. Lord Malak would not accept my loyalty until I had proven myself -- Telos, one could say, is where I proved myself."  
  
"There had to have been other ways, Saul. So many others."  
  
"So you say. Cling to your self-righteous delusions and lust for revenge if you wish...I frankly want to know more about your companion here." As he spoke, Karath (Admiral Dug) turned to look at Gann.  
  
"Do whatever the stang you want,  _Admiral_ ," Gann said, "I'm not going to betray the Republic." It sounded so cheesy, so corny, like something out of a holodrama, but at the very least, telling the Admiral (sort of) to go to the Corellian hells was more than satisfying. He had a feeling it wouldn't save him in this place, though.  
  
"Indeed? Then how about this...hypothetical, if you wish. Lord Malak is long delayed, but he has entrusted me with getting information out of you. I shall do it to the best of my ability. I shall ask you questions...fairly simple ones regarding your motivations, your objectives, and...other things. Every time you refuse to answer a question, or answer a question incorrectly, your companion..." Karath nodded towards Bastila. "Will suffer."

Even now, hearing those words, Gann felt almost as if an airlock had opened in his stomach. No, worse -- as if the runways on Kashyyyk had caved in and he was falling, falling into the Shadowlands. Only instead of the Shadowlands, there was a black hole below. Nothing more but a void.  
  
"No," he said, "No, please. Spare her. She's done nothing to you."  
  
"And that, Jedi Thracin, is where you're gravely mistaken. If anything, you and your little  _band_ have caused no ends of vexation to both Darth Malak and myself. You will pay for your error."  
  
 _Bastila,_ Gann said, over their bond,  _What is he talking about? Why does he say "error"?_  
  
 _I believe he means the will of the Force. If not for the will of the Force, we might not have come together._  
  
 _All right then._ Gann took a deep breath.  _Any tips in regards to tricking this traitorous little son of a murglak?_  
  
 _You'll think of something, I'm sure. You are, after all, quite resourceful._  
  
 _Maybe._ Gann sighed.  _I don't know._  
  
"Now, Jedi Thracin," Saul Karath said, "Where is your Jedi base?"  
  
"Base?" Gann snorted. "It's like you think we have some secret rebellion or something..."  
  
"Did I not remind you what would happen if you answered a question incorrectly or refused to answer?"  
  
"I'm just pointing out a fact, Admiral. That's all."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Very well," Saul said. He turned towards one of the Dark Jedi. "Activate -- "  
  
"Wait!"

Karath turned to look at Gann. "Yes?"  
  
"Alderaan," Gann said. He couldn't say it was the most creative answer he could give if only to spare the Enclave Karath's wrath, but it was his only chance. "Believe me. They're on Alderaan."  
  
Karath snorted. "Alderaan is a planet filled with nothing more than philosophers, boy. Besides, we have already located the Jedi base."  
  
 _No._  
  
"Yes," Karath said, "Dantooine is nothing more than a wasteland, and the Enclave nothing more than a ruin filled with the charred remains of your former masters." He grinned a grin that would have looked more flattering on a nexu even as he spoke -- Gann, meanwhile, felt as if the walls of the ship itself had given way into space.  
  
"No," he said, "That's not true. It can't be true." Vrook, Vandar, Zhar...all gone...  
  
 _I'm sorry, Gann,_ Bastila said to him, over their bond.  _I'm afraid he's telling the truth._  
  
 _Don't talk like that._ But even now, Bastila was right -- even now, feeling through the Force, Gann could see that Karath was right. And Karath seemed to know he was right, considering the way he was grinning.  
  
"I do understand it's difficult for you," Karath said, in that infuriatingly sickly tone of mock-sympathy, "But there is a way for you to save the other Jedi. Now tell me -- what mission did the Jedi Council send you on?"  
  
 _Stang it..._ Even now, wracking his brain for a good answer, Gann didn't know what to say. He couldn't betray the Jedi or the Republic. And yet at the same time, Karath  _knew_.  
  
Best to play along with his game.  
  
"We were sent to assassinate Lord Malak." Which was true. From a certain point of view. So he wasn't entirely lying.  
  
"You're wrong. According to intelligence sent back, you were apparently searching to find the Star Maps. Interesting. Were you, indeed, searching for the Star Forge?"  
  
 _Don't answer him, don't answer him..._  
  
"Very well, boy." Karath turned to one of the Dark Jedi. "Activate."  
  
Even now, feeling the waves of agony radiating from Bastila, hearing her screaming -- Gann wanted to break the walls of the Force cage, wanted to rescue her, but even now, struggling, the Dark Jedi on Karath's right activated the switch near Gann's cage. Pain coursed through Gann's body, and he heard screaming -- his own screaming, ringing in his ears.  
  
Finally, it stopped.  
  
"Enough," Karath said, "Now, tell me...how did you learn about the Star Maps?"  
  
Even now, Gann couldn't think of a suitable answer -- he was furious. No, worse than furious -- his nerves felt as if they were on fire, and the most coherent thought he could muster was the desire to dispense some justice, any justice, unto Saul.  
  
"I won't tell you," Gann said. "No matter what you do, Saul, you're not going to make me betray the Jedi or the Republic." A beat. "And the Force will punish you. It will punish both you and Malak long before any of us go to our graves." He knew it was bluster -- it would be a miracle if they survived long enough for Juhani to find them. And yet...  
  
Juhani was a resourceful girl. A wonderful girl. They would get out of here in time. They merely had to trust in the Force.  
  
Perhaps the Force wouldn't punish Malak and Karath per se -- at least, if they were in better circumstances, Bastila would most likely reprove him for using the word "punish" -- but in the figurative sense, it seemed to work.   
  
Saul's nexu smile seemed to fade away, replaced with genuine anger, genuine pique. "Very well," he said, still keeping that calm demeanor. "You will all pay dearly for your disobedience."  
  
And even now, feeling the electric current course through his body, hearing Carth, Bastila and his screams seem to mingle, Gann was glad when unconsciousness claimed him. At least, there, for now, Karath couldn't seem to hurt him.   
  
Hopefully.

***  
  
Dreams. Dreams filled Gann's head. Dreams that didn't seem to stop. Dreams of fire, of the  _Leviathan_ destroying Dantooine -- so much like Taris. So much fire, everywhere. And the screaming. People trying to flee the wrath of Darth Malak, ordering to know where Revan and the others were. They, of course, refused to answer. Gann saw, in the dream, Rahasia and Shen buried under the weight of a collapsing building, the Enclave on Dantooine burning, and so much more,  _too_ much more.  
  
And, of course, Gann making his way through the wreckage. Shouting for Shen and Rahasia, ordering them to come with him. Only...  
  
"They're not here. They're dead."  
  
An old woman, dressed in Jedi robes, a hood covering her eyes. Gann could only stop in bewilderment.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
The woman drew back her hood, revealing eyes white with blindness, almost as if they had withered away into blindness. Her face was old, almost beaten with travel and care.   
  
"You still haven't answered my question," Gann said. "Who are you?"  
  
"The answers will come in time," the old woman said. "But know this, Gann Thracin -- the events that have transpired are not what they appear. Malak is not only searching for your companion, but also for you. You will need to leave quickly."  
  
"But why? What could Malak possibly want with me?"  
  
It was only then that he heard Bastila's voice. Familiar, and thus, almost soothing. "...don't try to move too quickly. You may not feel fully recovered yet."  
  
"That goes without saying." Gann grimaced. "I feel like a rancor just trampled me. And then its buddies decided to trample me as well for additional laughs."  
  
Bastila chuckled, if weakly, before growing more serious again. "Karath's torture was indeed very thorough," she said, a bitter edge to her tone. "He kept the electric current up long after you had passed out."  
  
Gann grimaced again. "I'd give him points for thoroughness if I wasn't in pain right now. Are you all right?"  
  
"Relatively." Bastila's voice was soft even as she said it. Even now, her saying it hurt; he could still remember how Saul had hurt her. How he had tried to use her as an  _incentive,_ a  _reward_ for telling him everything he needed to know.  
  
"Bastila," Gann said, softly, "I'm so sorry."  
  
"There's no need to apologize. You did your best to protect the Republic. Nothing more."  
  
Even that, which Bastila no doubt meant as some degree of reassurance, barely did anything to console. "I could have done more," he said. "I could have -- ''  
  
"I doubt there was much you could have done," Bastila said. "And besides -- my pain was a small price to pay for not betraying the Republic."

"I don't think it matters anyway." Carth. "He already knew. He was mostly doing it for fun."  
  
Even the idea was enough to make Gann nauseous. "What kind of sick bastard tortures for fun?"  
  
Carth shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't use to be like that, you know. I can't say he was a nice man, but this..."  
  
"The Dark Side has perverted him, Carth." Bastila.   
  
"Well," Gann said, "At the risk of being pedantic, he's not really a Force user..."  
  
"I meant in the  _interpretive_ sense." There. The Bastila knew was back. Only for it to fade away as quickly as it came. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's just, Dantooine..."  
  
"I know, Bastila." If not for that damn Force cage field -- even when it wasn't on torture mode, it seemed to make sure to give Gann just the right electrical shock to keep him on edge -- and the field that enclosed her, he would have at least reached over, given her a hug -- or at least gave her some sort of reassurance. In the end, he said, "Malak's going to pay for what he's done. I promise." A pause. "At least," he said, "In the interpretive sense."


End file.
